Is Military Wives based on a true story?
The new film stars Kristin Scott Thomas and Sharon Horgan as women whose partners are serving in Afghanistan
Kristin Scott Thomas and Sharon Horgan are starring in a new film from the director of The Full Monty, set to be released in UK cinemas on Friday 6th March.
Military Wives tells the story of a group of women who form a choir while their husbands and partners are serving in Afghanistan - before they go on to become a huge sensation in the British media.
Is Military Wives based on a true story?
Yes - the basis for the film is the Military Wives Choirs, a network which now consists of 75 separate choirs each set at a different military base in both the UK and abroad.
The first Military Wives Choir to be formed in the UK was thought up by the spouses of two Scots Guards at Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire. They rehearsed for the first time in 2010 following a poster campaign that aimed to recruit women who thought that singing together would give them a focus in the absence of their husbands and partners.
The campaign really got off the ground when the choir got in touch with celebrity choirmaster Gareth Malone - who came on board with the idea and included it on his TV show.
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What happened in The Choir: Military Wives
The Choir: Military Wives was the name given to the fourth series of Malone's successful TV show The Choir. During the series, Malone set up two new choirs in Chivenor on the North coast of Devon and Royal Citadel in Plymouth and aimed to improve the confidence of the participating women.
The final programme of the series saw both choirs perform at the Royal Albert Hall as part of the The Royal British Legion's 2011 Remembrance service, while a single released by the choir - titled Wherever You Are - went on to become that year's Christmas number one.
Following the end of the show, more Military Wives Choirs began to start all over the country and they were invited to perform at all sorts of important events, including the opening of London's Olympic Stadium. Also in 2012 they formed the Military Wives Choirs Foundation charity - with Malone becoming its first patron.
Are the characters in Military Wives based on real people?
The film is inspired by rather than directly based on the true story - and so the characters played by Scott Thomas, Horgan and co. are not based on specific people.
Therefore although the general premise of the film will be recognisable to most UK audiences, character interactions and many of the events featured on screen are actually fictional.
Military Wives is in UK cinemas from Friday 6th March 2020
Authors
Patrick Cremona is the Senior Film Writer at Radio Times, and looks after all the latest film releases both in cinemas and on streaming. He has been with the website since October 2019, and in that time has interviewed a host of big name stars and reviewed a diverse range of movies.
